Media Release

20 March 2018: Member for Kennedy Hon Bob Katter MP has been left with a bitter taste in his mouth after discovering that the once beloved XXXX Gold brand is winding back its alignment with Queensland after relocating a portion of its factory production to NSW and undermining job security by moving away from employing full time Queenslanders to casual contract staff.

Last week it was revealed that the iconic Milton, Brisbane based brewery, owned by Lion, has seen an increase in union action which is resulting in staff strikes and an associated impeding beer shortage.

The workers are responding to the cuts in workplace conditions and security in favour of contract labour – leaving the big question, whose side are XXXX Gold really on?

“XXXX has gone from a staff of 300 in Milton, next to the old football stadium, down to 100… I repeat that, from 300 to 100 staff. There have been 40 redundancies in the last two or three years and they will continue. So clearly they are moving out,” Mr Katter said.
XXXX Gold has also reduced its sponsorship branding of the Queensland Maroons with the front of the Maroons State of Origin 2018 jersey missing the XXXX Gold logo for the first time in more than a decade.
Mr Katter said, “Now this brand that has developed on the basis of being Qld’s beer is now kissing goodbye to that identification marker and all I can say is whoever is in charge of their marketing, give him a job feeding the pigs in a pig farm, because they have got to be the world’s greatest idiot.
“I mean with their withdrawal from Rugby League, employment of casualised labour, what we are watching is the complete collapse of their support base.
“The only taste in our mouths now is a bad taste. That’s what XXXX leaves in our mouths.
“People say well what do we do? Well drink something else. I myself, I’m a rum and milk man. But I wouldn’t suggest that to everybody,” Mr Katter said.
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